Same result, different tests for Kyle Williams

The former world champion kickboxer opened the show on Tommy Owens' bill in the Holte Suite at Aston Villa Football Club on Friday night,

The 24-year-old bantamweight from Whitmore Reans won ICU honours at featherweight in his former calling and still has ties to the sport.

He continues to work as an instructor at Fran Zuccala's Eclipse Kickboxing & Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy in Wolverhampton city centre.

His boxing training comes under Tyler Shakespeare, another to have made the change, and he performed to orders after lacing on the gloves again.

His second 40-37 points success since the switch came after vastly different tests, after battling through two rounds with a bad cut against the tricky Anwar Alfadli at Walsall Town Hall in March.

This time, Williams and Halsall met in close with the left uppercut the Black Country fighter's most reliable weapon, but his adversary did reply with right hands.

They traded body shots in the second, before Williams retreated and waited for Halsall to come forward again, feinting to snap into a right hook.

The never-stopped Halsall remained durable and competitive, but there was no doubt where referee Kevin Parker's result was going over-the-distance.

Williams commented: "A different style brought something out of me and added to my game. I showed a little bit more of what I did against Anwar in the fourth round.

"I stayed on his chest and had success on the inside, I said before that I was going to try and get past his jab and close down the range. That was the game-plan.

"I showed a lot more variation with my shots and Ian was game enough to stand there and trade with me. I was able to let my hands go and combine punches.

"I can go away from this and build on it and, hopefully, my next opponent will bring more new things to the table. I want to be versatile.

"It's hard to gage how I've done, but Ian definitely had the sort of style that I like to fight. I feel I've improved again.

"If I could have these two opponents again, I'd probably be a bit more clinical now. That shows how I've come on."

Williams will continue with four-rounders, for the foreseeable future, but is looking forward to the point where he gets added ring time.

He said: "Any boxer will tell you four rounds isn't a long time to get all of your work in and, if your opponent has come to fight, you sometimes smother each other. It's not about technique.

"Over a longer distance, after more bouts when things have settled down, you'll see a lot more cleaner performances from me."